DETROIT – Officials said they found 18 guns at the home of a Detroit man who was making $2,000 per day by running a marijuana vending machine outside the house.
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Case background
On Jan. 7, officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received an anonymous tip that a person named Marcellus Cornwell was operating a vending machine on the side of his house and using it to sell marijuana and pills, according to a criminal complaint filed last week (April 26).
The tip also claimed Cornwell had numerous firearms and was selling drugs and firearms to minors, officials said.
Cornwell is either 42 or 43 years old and lives on Mettetal Street on Detroit’s west side, authorities said.
He has a criminal history that includes convictions in 1997 for armed robbery and felony firearm, in 2008 for carrying a concealed weapon, in 2009 for felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm, and in 2011 for three counts of identity theft, according to court records.
Officials said Cornwell was sentenced to more than one year in prison for each of those convictions.
Marijuana vending machine
ATF agents conducted surveillance at Cornwell’s home and twice purchased suspected marijuana from the vending machine in February and March, the criminal complaint says.
Specifically, ATF agents said they purchased 5.28 grams of suspected marijuana from the vending machine on Feb. 18, and 4.1 grams on March 1.
On March 14, authorities said they received a search warrant for Cornwell’s home.
Guns found in home
Law enforcement officials performed the search around 7:05 a.m. March 16, they said.
Authorities announced themselves at the door and saw someone appear briefly and then disappear in the upstairs bedroom, according to court records.
Officials said they waited “a reasonable amount of time with no additional response from within,” so they forced their way into the home. Cornwell was found coming down the steps, and another man was in the living room, authorities said.
ATF members said they found 18 firearms, dozens of rounds of assorted ammunition, and several kilograms of suspected marijuana inside the home
Here’s more about what was found, according to the complaint:
- A Masterpiece Arms Defender, 9 mm caliber pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Volunteer Enterprises Inc. Commando Mark 3, .45-caliber rifle -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Davis Industries DM22, .22-caliber pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Com Prod Inc. CDM, .22-caliber revolver -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Weihrauch Windicator, .357-caliber revolver, loaded with five rounds of .357 caliber ammunition -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A GIVATI Firearms RT9, 9 mm caliber, semiautomatic pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Chongqing Jianshe Industry Group M12AR, 12-gauge caliber semiautomatic shotgun -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Chongqing Jianshe Industry Group M12AR, 12-gauge caliber semiautomatic shotgun -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Goodtime Outdoors Inc. Core 15, .223 5.56-caliber rifle -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Western Field (Mossberg) M550ABD, 12-gauge shotgun -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Glock 27, .40 caliber pistol, loaded with nine rounds of .40-caliber ammunition -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Bushmaster XM15-E2S, .223 5.56-caliber semiautomatic rifle -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Romarmsa Cugir GPWASR-10/63, 7.62 x 39 caliber rifle -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Rock River Arms LAR15, 5.56-caliber -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Glock 19, 9 mm caliber semiautomatic pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Taurus G3C, 9 mm caliber pistol, loaded with 12 rounds of 9 mm Luger ammunition -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A SCCY CPX-1, 9 mm caliber semiautomatic pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- A Smith & Wesson SD 40VE, .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- Box of approximately 143 rounds of assorted ammunition -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- One Pro Mag Drum Pistol magazine, one SCCY pistol magazine, and one Smith & Wesson magazine -- found in the gun safe in the basement.
- Thirty-three rounds of assorted 9 mm and .40-caliber ammunition -- found on the desktop and throughout the dining room.
- Two boxes of .380-caliber ammunition containing 57 rounds -- found in the nightstand by the bed of Cornwell’s bedroom.
- Fifteen rounds of 12-gauge ammunition and one round of 20-gauge ammunition -- found in the nightstand near door of Cornwell’s bedroom.
- Five rounds of 12-gauge ammunition -- found loaded in a magazine in the nightstand by the bed of Cornwell’s bedroom.
- Twenty-five rounds of .223-caliber ammunition -- found loaded in a magazine in the nightstand by the bed of Cornwell’s bedroom.
- Thirteen rounds of .223-caliber ammunition -- found in the nightstand in the closet of Cornwell’s bedroom.
Cornwell interview
Cornwell said he had lived at the home on Mettetal Street his entire life. He said he has owned and operated the marijuana vending machine for four years, making about $2,000 per day, according to authorities.
The other man in the house is Cornwell’s employee and lives there, the criminal complaint says.
Cornwell told officials that there was about $7,000 cash in the safe in his bedroom, which he unlocked for ATF agents with his fingerprint, officials said. An unknown amount of cash was found on Cornwell’s nightstand, and about $5,700 was found in a bag in the dining room, court records show.
Cornwell told officials multiple times that he makes the majority of his money from the marijuana vending machine, they said.
He said he obtained or bought most of the firearms from people off the street, court records show. The Volunteer Enterprises Inc. Commando Mark 3 and the Chongqing Jianshe Industry Group were birthday gifts, according to authorities.
Cornwell said the American Tactical Omni-Hybrid didn’t belong to him, officials said. He told them he was storing the Bushmaster XM15-E2S and the GIVATI Firearms RT9 for a relative who was out of town, according to the criminal complaint.
Officials said Cornwell told them that he had owned most of the firearms for less than three years. He said he’s a collector of firearms and is aware that he’s not allowed to possess them, authorities said.
The Taurus G3C 9 mm pistol was reported stolen Nov. 20, 2021, out of Southfield, according to officials. The Smith & Wesson SD 40VE, .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol was reported stolen Nov. 18, 2021, out of Detroit, court records show.
Charge
The criminal complaint concludes that there’s probable cause to charge Cornwell with felon in possession of a firearm.
